South by Southwest

Divisions

Music

SXSW Music is the largest music festival of its kind in the world, with more than 2,000 acts as of 2014. SXSW Music offers artist-provided music and video samples of featured artists at each festival via their official YouTube channel.

The music event has grown from 700 registrants in 1987, the first year of the conference, to over 161,000 attendees in 2018. SXSW Film and SXSW Interactive events have grown every year, bringing over 32,000 registrants to Austin in March 2013.

Bands must cover their own expenses for travel and lodging at the event. All performers are offered a cash payment or a wristband package that allows access to all music events.

Film

SXSW Film Conference spans five days of conference panels and sessions, and welcomes filmmakers of all levels. Programming consists of keynote speakers, panels, workshops, mentor sessions and more, with expert filmmakers and industry leaders.

In 2015, the SXSW Film Conference programmed over 250 sessions with 735 speakers. Past speakers included Jon Favreau, Mark Duplass, Ava DuVernay, Ryan Gosling, Nicolas Cage, Alejandro Jodorowsky, Tilda Swinton, Amy Schumer, Sally Field, Joss Whedon, Christine Vachon, RZA, Matthew McConaughey, Danny Boyle, Seth MacFarlane, Catherine Hardwicke, Richard Linklater, David Gordon Green, Harmony Korine, Henry Rollins, Sarah Green and Robert Rodriguez. Although the film festival highlights independently produced films and emerging directing talent with unique visions, the festival has long served studios as a barometer for their comedies, with enthusiastic fans indicating how they might play in wide release.

The SXSW Film Festival runs nine days, simultaneously with the SXSW Film Conference, and celebrates raw innovation and emerging talent both behind and in front of the camera. Festival programming categories include: Special Events, Headliners, Narrative Spotlight, Documentary Spotlight, Narrative Competition, Documentary Competition, Visions, Midnighters, 24 Beats Per Second, SXGlobal, Episodic, Festival Favorites, and Short Film Programs. The SXSW Film Awards, which occur on the last day of the Film Conference, honor films selected by the Feature and Short Film Juries.

In 2015, the SXSW Film Festival programmed 150 feature films and 106 short films, selected from 7,361 submissions. Past world premieres included Furious 7, Neighbors, Chef, 21 Jump Street, The Cabin in the Woods, Dance of the Dead, Bridesmaids and Insidious, and the TV series Girls, Silicon Valley, and Penny Dreadful.

Interactive

SXSW Interactive focuses on emerging technology. The festival includes a trade show, speakers, parties, and a startup accelerator.

History

Inauguration in the 1980s

In July 1986, the organizers of the New York City music festival New Music Seminar contacted Roland Swenson, a staffer at the alternative weekly The Austin Chronicle, to talk about organizing an extension of that festival into Austin. They thereafter announced they were going to hold a "New Music Seminar Southwest". The plans did not materialize, however, so Swenson decided to instead co-organize a local music festival, with the help of two other people at the Chronicle: editor and co-founder Louis Black, and publisher Nick Barbaro. Louis Meyers, a booking agent and musician, was also brought on board. Black came up with the name, as a play on the name of the 1959 Alfred Hitchcock film North by Northwest. It should not be confused with "southwest by south" (SWbS), a point on a compass.

The event was first held in March 1987. The organizers considered it a regional event and expected around 150 attendees to show up, but over 700 came, and according to Black "it was national almost immediately." Meyers left Austin and the festival in the early 1990s, but Black, Barbaro and Swenson remained the festival's key organizers as of 2010.

1990s

Singer-songwriter Michelle Shocked was the keynote speaker at the 1992 South by Southwest. She caused controversy by delivering a speech, written by her then-husband Bart Bull, criticizing white musicians for stealing music from African American artists; and then later during the same conference when she tried to kick the band Two Nice Girls off of a benefit concert, a move that some called anti-gay, due to Two Nice Girls' overtly lesbian image.

In 1993, SXSW moved into the Austin Convention Center, where it is still held.

In 1994, SXSW added a component for film and other media, named the "SXSW Film and Multimedia Conference". Johnny Cash was the keynote speaker.

That year, the three brothers of the band Hanson were brought to SXSW by their father in order to perform impromptu auditions for music executives, in the hopes of getting industry attention. Among the people who heard them was A&R executive Christopher Sabec, who became their manager, and would soon afterward get them signed to Mercury Records.

In 1995, the SXSW Film and Multimedia Conference was split into two separate events, "SXSW Film" and "SXSW Multimedia". In 1999, SXSW Multimedia was renamed "SXSW Interactive".

2000s

Singer-songwriter John Mayer's performance at the 2000 SXSW Music festival led to his signing soon thereafter with Aware Records, his first record label.

A performance by the band The Polyphonic Spree at the 2002 SXSW Music festival helped bring them to national attention before they had signed with a major label.

At the 2002 SXSW Film Festival, the film Manito won the jury award for narrative feature, while the documentary Spellbound won the jury award for documentary feature.

British singer James Blunt was discovered by producer Linda Perry while playing a small show at the 2004 SXSW Music festival, and was signed to Perry's Custard Records soon thereafter, where he would go on to release all three of his subsequent albums.

The 2005 SXSW Film is considered by some to be the origin of the mumblecore film genre. A number of films now classified as mumblecore, including The Puffy Chair, Kissing on the Mouth, Four Eyed Monsters and Mutual Appreciation, were screened, and Eric Masunaga, a musician and the sound editor on Mutual Appreciation, is credited with coining the term "mumblecore" at a bar while at the festival.

The film Hooligans won both the Feature Film Jury Award and the Feature Film Audience Award for narrative feature, while The Puffy Chair won the Feature Film Audience Award in the "Emerging Visions" category. The documentary film Cowboy del Amor won the SXSW Competition Award and the Audience Award.

A secret concert at the 2006 SXSW Music by the band The Flaming Lips was called one of the "Top 10 Music-Festival Moments" of all time by Time magazine in 2010.

The 2006 SXSW Interactive featured a keynote panel of Wikipedia co-founder Jimmy Wales and Craigslist founder Craig Newmark.

That year, "Screenburn at SXSW", a component for video games, was added to SXSW Interactive.

2007

The 2007 music festival took place from March 14 to 18, and more than 1,400 acts performed. Two of the top film premieres that year were Elvis and Anabelle and Skills Like This.

The social media platform Twitter notably gained a good deal of early traction and buzz at the 2007 SXSW Interactive, though it did not launch at SXSW 2007 as is sometimes reported.

2008

The 2008 SXSW Interactive got media attention due to a keynote interview of Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg by technology journalist Sarah Lacy that was considered by some observers to be a "train wreck" due to an audience perception that Lacy was asking uninteresting questions, as well as mocking or terse answers in response from Zuckerberg.

In 2008, a comedy element was added to SXSW; it was held for one night. (By 2012, comedy performances occurred on all nights of the festival.)

2009

The 2009 festival was held March 13–22. The Interactive section of SXSW in particular drew larger attendance levels; the influx strained the networks of providers such as AT&T (primarily due to heavy iPhone usage). Also new was the founding of an international organization for those not attending, dubbed NotAtSXSW. Coordinating through Twitter and other online tools, notatsxsw events were held in London, New York, Wisconsin, Portland, Oregon and Miami.

The 2009 SXSW Interactive saw the launch of the Foursquare application, which was called "the breakout mobile app" of the event by the Mashable blog.

In 2009, the first Indian classical music artists performed at SXSW: Canadians Cassius Khan and Amika Kushwaha.

The 2009 SXSW Film screened 250 films, including 54 world premieres. The event was notable for having the United States premiere of the film The Hurt Locker, which went on to win the Academy Award for Best Picture in 2010. The winners of the feature jury awards were, for documentary feature, 45365, and for narrative feature, Made in China.

2010s

2010

The 2010 music festival, which took place March 12–21, was dedicated to Alex Chilton, who died shortly before he was to perform with Big Star. A tribute concert was performed in his honor on March 20, 2010.

At the 2010 festival, nearly 2,000 bands were officially scheduled to perform, and festival reps estimated that over 13,000 industry representatives attended. Though traditionally the Austin Music Awards kick off the festival, that year organizers slated it as the closing act. Local musician Bob Schneider earned 6 awards, including Song of the Year, Singer of the Year, and Band of the Year (with Lonelyland.) The 2010 festival was also notable for appearances by the surviving members of the band Moby Grape.

At the 2010 Film festival, Magnolia Pictures bought the film rights to the science-fiction film Monsters on the night it screened, in what was the first-ever "overnight acquisition" at SXSW. Journalist Meredith Melnick of Time magazine called this purchase a turning point for SXSW, leading to a greater interest among film studio executives in attending the festival in person. That year also saw the premiere of the indie favorite Tiny Furniture, which won the award for Best Narrative Feature.

The 2010 Interactive festival had an estimated 12–13,000 paying attendees, which represented a 40% jump over the previous year. This was the first year in which the interactive festival's attendance surpassed the music festival's. The keynote presentation was an interview of then-Twitter CEO Evan Williams by Umair Haque, an interview that many in the audience found disappointingly superficial.

2011

The 2011 SXSW festival ran from March 11 to 20. The keynote presenter for SXSW Interactive was Seth Priebatsch, founder and CEO of the mobile-gaming platform SCVNGR. The 2011 Interactive festival was by far the largest it had ever been, with an estimated 20,000 attendees.

Also in attendance at SXSW was boxing legend Mike Tyson, promoting his new iPhone game with RockLive at the Screenburn Arcade.

At least two films screened at the SXSW Film festival gained distribution deals: the documentary Undefeated (which went on to win the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature) and the thriller The Divide. As a result, film critic Christopher Kelly wrote that in 2011, SXSW Film went from being "a well-regarded but fundamentally regional event" to having "joined the big leagues of film festivals around the world." That festival was also notable for having the premiere of the film Bridesmaids.

The March 15 screening of the Foo Fighters documentary Back and Forth was followed by a surprise live performance by the band itself, with a setlist that included the entirety of the then-upcoming album Wasting Light.

2012

SXSW 2012 ran from March 9 to 18. The standout technology of the 2012 SXSW Interactive was generally stated to be "social discovery" mobile apps, which let users locate other nearby users. Social discovery apps that had a presence at SXSW included Highlight, Glancee, Sonar and Kismet.

SXSW Film saw the premiere of two major Hollywood films: The Cabin in the Woods and 21 Jump Street. Two films obtained distribution deals: Girls Against Boys and The Tall Man. Another film, Gimme the Loot, which won the SXSW Narrative Feature Grand Jury Prize, got a distribution deal a week after the festival. Bay of All Saints received the Audience Award for Best Feature Documentary.

2012 was also the first year the music portion was expanded to Tuesday. The musical festival included rappers such as Talib Kweli and Lil' Wayne, along with surprise appearances by Big Sean and Kanye West; indie bands that appeared included MENEW and The Shins. Bruce Springsteen was the keynote speaker for the music festival.

2013

SXSW 2013 ran from March 8 to 17. The big-budget films The Incredible Burt Wonderstone and Evil Dead premiered at the 2013 SXSW Film, and Spring Breakers had its U.S. premiere. The film Short Term 12 won the grand jury award for Best Narrative Feature. The films Awful Nice, Cheap Thrills, and Haunter received distribution deals, and Drinking Buddies obtained a distribution deal several days later.

The 2013 SXSW Interactive saw another huge jump in registration, now with 30,621 paying attendees. This was over three times the number that had attended in 2008 (9,000), just five years previously. The keynote talk for the 2013 SXSW Interactive was given by SpaceX CEO Elon Musk. The "Screenburn" and "Arcade" components were renamed to "SXSW Gaming" and "SXSW Gaming Expo", respectively. The Interactive conference had an increased corporate presence, featuring major participation by Samsung, 3M, Target, American Airlines, Adobe Systems and AT&T, among others. According to CNN, CBS and CNET called Grumpy Cat the undisputed "biggest star" of SXSW Interactive over Musk, Al Gore and Neil Gaiman.

2014

SXSW 2014 ran from March 7 to 16. SXSW Film had premieres of the big-budget films Neighbors, Veronica Mars and Chef, and Cesar Chavez had its North American premiere In March 2014 On Her Louder Tour Lea Michele Headlined the SXSW 2014 For her louder . A clip for the big-budget film Godzilla was also screened. The films Space Station 76 and Exists got distribution deals at the festival, while Fort Tilden (which won the Narrative Feature Grand Jury Prize) and Open Windows got distribution deals shortly afterward.

A new section, "Episodic" (on television programming), was introduced to SXSW Film. Television series that previewed at the festival include Silicon Valley and From Dusk till Dawn: The Series. The talk show Jimmy Kimmel Live! was taped for a week at the festival; it joined the talk show Watch What Happens: Live, which began taping at SXSW in 2013.

SXSW Interactive featured a keynote speech by NSA leaker Edward Snowden, via streaming video, about privacy rights. The festival also featured a talk from another famous leaker, Julian Assange, also speaking remotely. Besides privacy issues, another major focus of the Interactive festival was wearable technology, including devices for augmented reality, activity tracking, identity authentication, charging cell phones and others. Computerworld magazine called the Oculus Rift, a virtual reality gaming headset, the "sleeper hit" of the festival, although it was displayed not at the Interactive but at the Film portion, as part of a Game of Thrones exhibit. The SXSW Gaming section introduced its SXSW Gaming Awards to recognize achievement in video and other types of gaming, which has continued through future SXSW festivals.

The keynote presenter and headline act this year for Stubb's was Lady Gaga. To promote her upcoming album, Food, Kelis cooked and served barbecue-style food from a food truck to festival attendees.

On March 13, 2014, a drunk driver, Rashad Charjuan Owens, drove his car into a crowd of festival attendees while trying to evade a traffic stop. Two people were killed immediately, another two died later from their injuries and another 21 were injured but survived. Owens was convicted of capital murder charges after a November 2015 trial in which eyewitnesses testified that about "a chaotic and harrowing scene" on the night, as hundreds of people ran and screamed as the car sped through crowds of people. Owens was given an automatic sentence of life imprisonment without the possibility of parole.

On March 15, 2014, rapper Tyler, the Creator was arrested on misdemeanor charges of "inciting to riot" after yelling to fans to push their way past security guards at a sold-out show the previous day. In February 2016, the riot charges were dropped against Tyler, The Creator pursuant to a plea agreement with prosecutors (under which the rapper pleaded guilty to the lesser offense of disorderly conduct and paid a $100 fine, with the case to be dismissed if he stays out of trouble for three months).

2015

SXSW 2015 took place from March 13 to 22. SXSW Film screened 145 feature films, an all-time high for the festival. The big-budget films Furious 7 (which was a last-minute addition to the lineup), Get Hard, Spy, a rough cut of Trainwreck, Moonwalkers and The Final Girls had their world premieres, as did the documentaries Danny Says, Steve Jobs: The Man in the Machine and Brand: A Second Coming. Ex Machina had its North American premiere. 6 Years, Manson Family Vacation and Steve Jobs: The Man in the Machine all got distribution deals at the festival.

The 2015 festival hosted the swearing-in ceremony of Michelle K. Lee as the new head of the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzker administered the oath of office to Lee at the festival on Friday, March 13.

Various sources called Meerkat, an iOS app that had launched two weeks earlier that lets users livestream video via Twitter, the breakout technology of SXSW Interactive. Another product that received significant buzz was a prototype of the roadable aircraft AeroMobil.

2016

SXSW 2016 began on March 11 and ended on March 20. On March 11, 2016, President Barack Obama gave a speech at SXSW Interactive in which he called on the technology industry to help solve many of America's problems, such as upgrading outdated networks, helping balance security and privacy, and the FBI–Apple encryption dispute.

Films that premiered at SXSW Film include Everybody Wants Some!!, Keanu, Pee-wee's Big Holiday, Sausage Party and Don't Think Twice.

On the night of March 20, gunshots rang out on 6th Street during SXSW, causing mass hysteria and panic. No injuries were reported and a man from Memphis, Tennessee was arrested with discharging a firearm and disturbing the peace.

Following a visit by then-President Barack Obama, SXSW collaborated with the Obama administration, the President's Committee on Arts and Humanities, and the technology media company Futurism to host South by South Lawn on the South Lawn of the White House on October 3, 2016.

2017

Films that premiered at SXSW Film include Song to Song, Baby Driver, Atomic Blonde, Gemini, The Ballad of Lefty Brown. Spettacolo and The Disaster Artist. Television series that previewed include The Son, Dear White People and American Gods. To promote the Hulu original series The Handmaid's Tale, dozens of actresses silently walked the streets of downtown Austin costumed in red "handmaid" dresses. To promote the third season of the AMC original series Better Call Saul (a spin-off prequel of Breaking Bad), a pop-up "Los Pollos Hermanos" restaurant, representing the fictional fast food chain featured in both series, appeared in downtown Austin.

Guest speakers included former mayor of Newark, NJ and current Senator Cory Booker (D-New Jersey), political activist and commentator Van Jones and former Vice President Joe Biden, who spoke about his cancer research initiative. Nile Rodgers gave the keynote address for the music portion of the festival, while filmmakers Gareth Edwards and Lee Daniels gave the keynote presentations for the film portion.

Major companies and brands which exhibited at SXSW (many with standalone "brand activation" pavilions) included IBM, Intel, Panasonic, Nintendo, GE, Giorgio Armani, Mazda and National Geographic.

Major performers during the music component of the festival included Garth Brooks, Lana Del Rey, Lil Yachty, The Roots, The Avett Brothers, Willie Nelson, Solange Knowles, Rae Sremmurd, Cardiel, Migos, and The Chainsmokers, among others.

En route to SXSW 2017, Italian post-punk band Soviet Soviet, traveling on the Visa Waiver Program, was denied entry to the United States, detained overnight and deported after an immigration officer at Seattle–Tacoma International Airport claimed they were planning on conducting a paid performance, which would have required a work visa. The band presented a letter from their American record label stating that both their performances at KEXP (which was what had brought the band to Seattle) and at SXSW were for promotional purposes only, but this failed to convince officials at the airport. There was a "Contrabanned" showcase on March 17, featuring various artists and musicians (residents of the U.S. and Canada) who are natives of, or have family connections to, countries affected by the 2017 U.S. travel ban.

Uber and Lyft were not available to attendees because they had pulled out of Austin in May 2016 as a result of a city ordinance mandating fingerprint-based background checks for drivers of any ridesharing company. However, other services such as (locally based) RideAustin, Fasten and Fare, were available, although in high demand. Uber and Lyft resumed service in Austin in May 2017.

2018

SXSW 2018 ran from March 9 to 18. Finalists of the 2018 SXSW Accelerator Pitch Event included Cambridge Cancer Genomics and Bluefield Technologies. Two winners of the event were Austin-based: GrubTubs (in the Hyper-Connected Communities category) and ICON 3D (in the Social and Culture category).

Guest speakers included politicians Bernie Sanders, Arnold Schwarzenegger and Sadiq Khan; journalists Christiane Amanpour and Ta-Nehisi Coates; filmmakers Barry Jenkins, Darren Aronofsky and Steven Spielberg; and others including Elon Musk and David Banner. Actor and comedian Bill Murray appeared at several unofficial functions during SXSW.

Major performers during SXSW Music included Tinashe, Rae Sremmurd, Rita Coolidge, Salt-N-Pepa and Khalid. There was an apparent increased emphasis on locally based performers, international acts and relative unknowns.

New games announced during the 2018 SXSW Gaming Expo included Sonic Mania Plus. At the SXSW Gaming Awards (held March 17), the award for Game of the Year went to The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild.

Films that premiered at the 2018 South By Southwest Film Festival include A Quiet Place, Blockers, Ready Player One and the documentary feature and winner of a Special Jury Prize, Garry Winogrand: All Things Are Photographable. Films that had their U.S. premiere include Final Portrait and Who We Are Now. The film Thunder Road won the grand jury prize. TV series that previewed include Barry, Krypton, The Last O.G. and Cloak & Dagger. To promote the second season of the HBO series Westworld, a recreation of the show's fictional Western "town" of Sweetwater was built on two acres of open land just outside Austin. Fans took shuttles to the site, which was dressed in the Old West style, with over 60 actors playing the parts of the android "hosts".

SXSW 2018 coincided with a string of bombings in Austin, which had begun on March 2 and ended on March 21, when the presumed perpetrator, Mark Anthony Conditt, blew himself up after being discovered by police. Two of the bombings occurred during SXSW. On March 17, Live Nation Music, a company organizing events for SXSW, received a bomb threat via email. Police searched the area mentioned in the email and found nothing of concern, but planned performances by The Roots and Ludacris, among others, were canceled. Police arrested 26-year-old Trevor Weldon Ingram the next day; Ingram was charged with making a terroristic threat, a third-degree felony, in connection with the email.

2019

South by Southwest 2019 ran from March 8 to 17. Films entered at SXSW Film included Us, The Beach Bum, Long Shot, Booksmart and The Highwaymen. TV series that previewed included FX's What We Do in the Shadows, Hulu's Shrill and OWN's David Makes Man.

At the SXSW Gaming Awards (held March 16), the award for Game of the Year went to God of War. Major performers for SXSW Music included Edie Brickell & New Bohemians (their first-ever appearance at SXSW).

Winners of the 2019 SXSW Pitch event, in which emerging startups pitch to potential investors, included Derq, Pathway and ENZO Tyres. The "Best In Show" winner was Nebula Genomics; the "Best Bootstrap" award went to TwentyTables and the "Best Speed Pitch" went to Xplosion Tech.

Some of the first forums of the 2020 presidential race took place at SXSW, with Democratic presidential candidates Pete Buttigieg, Julian Castro, John Delaney, Tulsi Gabbard, John Hickenlooper, Jay Inslee, Amy Klobuchar, Beto O'Rourke, Elizabeth Warren and Andrew Yang all making appearances at the festival (though some had not yet announced their candidacy at the time). Other scheduled guest speakers included politicians Mazie Hirono and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez; musicians David Byrne and Wyclef Jean; actors and comedians Aidy Bryant, Kathy Griffin, Ethan Hawke, Trevor Noah and Zoe Saldaña; businesspeople Tim Ferriss, Jeffrey Katzenberg and Guy Kawasaki; and others including Priscilla Chan, Neil Gaiman, Valerie Jarrett, Michael Mignano, Bill Nye, Dawn Ostroff, Robert Rodriguez and Maria Shriver.

To promote the final season of Game of Thrones, HBO organized a blood drive with the American Red Cross titled "Bleed for the Throne" which included actors in costumes similar to those on the series.

To promote the Amazon Prime original limited series Good Omens, a brand activation experience called "Garden of Earthly Delights" was installed in downtown Austin.

2020s

2020

South by Southwest 2020 was scheduled to run from March 13 to 22, but was officially canceled on March 6 due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Austin, Texas, the result of an order by the city of Austin. The city's Mayor Steve Adler announced the cancellation of the 2020 SXSW and also declared a local disaster area.

In the month prior to the conference, SXSW organizers had resisted calls to cancel the conference. On February 28, a spokesperson said:

However, in the run up to the conference, numerous companies and organizations canceled their SXSW attendance, including Twitter-, Facebook, Vevo, Intel, Mashable, Universal Music Group, Amazon, Entertainment Weekly, TikTok, SAP, Netflix, Apple, Indeed, WarnerMedia, The Washington Post, and IBM. Additionally, many individual attendees, headliners and speakers had decided not to attend, including keynote speaker Tim Ferriss and artists such as the Beastie Boys, Ozzy Osbourne and Trent Reznor.

An online petition called for SXSW 2020 to be canceled due to health concerns; by the time of the cancellation, it exceeded 50,000 signatures.

SXSW organizers said that they were "devastated" by the cancellation, stating that, The show must go on' is in our DNA." They wrote that they were attempting to reschedule the event, and were at the same time working to create an online SXSW for 2020.

SXSW co-founder Nick Barbaro said the organization did not have cancellation insurance relating to a disease pandemic or triggered by the city declaring a "local state of disaster."

Various unofficial SXSW events, as well as "alternative" SXSW events, did occur, in an attempt to help local workers and businesses who would be hurt most by the cancellation. The Austin Community Foundation also launched a "Stand with Austin Fund" for donations to "individuals and small businesses most negatively impacted by the cancellation of SXSW and least able to recover on their own."

On March 13, 2020, festival organizers announced that they would proceed with juried and special awards, with judges viewing submissions online. On March 24, the winners of the 2020 SXSW Gaming Awards were announced on the SXSW website, and the honorees recorded acceptance messages for the SXSW YouTube channel and website. Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice was awarded Video Game of the Year.

On April 2, SXSW announced a joint venture with Amazon Prime Video to launch a film festival collection. Filmmakers scheduled to screen films at SXSW were given the option to have their films play exclusively, and for free, on Prime Video in the U.S. for a 10-day "virtual film festival".

In May, SXSW organizers announced "SXSW Sessions Online", a weekly series of online discussions to run through June, with some of the previously announced guest speakers; each video session was streamed online with Q&A portions made available initially to those originally registered for the festival. All sessions were posted afterwards on the SXSW YouTube channel.

2021

Using a combination of technologies from Brightcove for B2C, and Shift72 for B2B, SXSW ran a virtual event from March 16 to 20.

Films and miniseries that premiered at SXSW include Demi Lovato: Dancing with the Devil, Hysterical, Jakob's Wife, Violet, Dear Mr. Brody, Here Before, The Fallout, The Lost Sons, Introducing, Selma Blair, Lily Topples the World, Not Going Quietly, The Return: Life After ISIS, Fruits of Labor and United States vs. Reality Winner.

Featured speakers included Samantha Bee, Richard Branson, Chiquis Rivera, Tim Ellis, Laurieann Gibson, Taraji P. Henson, Rana el Kaliouby, Matthew McConaughey, Adriene Mishler, and Alexi Pappas. Keynote addresses were given by Stacey Abrams, Pete Buttigieg and Willie Nelson.

In April 2021, Penske Media Corporation purchased a 50% stake in SXSW.

2022

South by Southwest 2022 ran from March 11 to 20. The SXSW Conference & Festivals and SXSW EDU drew total participation totalling approximately 278,681.

Organizers of SXSW planned for a hybrid event (in-person with online viewing and participation options); all registered in-person participants and attendees were required to provide proof of full vaccination against COVID-19, or a recent negative COVID-19 test, as a condition of receiving their badge. The Austin Convention Center, along with other event venues, upgraded air filtration and increased the cleaning and sanitizing frequency of high touch surfaces, including using UV light technology. Overall the event was slightly smaller than in previous (in-person) years with the core downtown area not quite as crowded (and therefore easier and faster to get around) and a smaller number of musical artists and overall content; significantly fewer major celebrities (especially musical acts) appeared than in previous years, although the film component seemed to celebrate a strong comeback after two years of virtual festivals.

Films that premiered at SXSW Film were Everything Everywhere All at Once, The Lost City, The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent, Bodies Bodies Bodies, X, Apollo 10 1⁄2: A Space Age Childhood, I Love My Dad, Master of Light (winner of the documentary competition), and What We Leave Behind (winner of the Louis Black "Lone Star" and Fandor New Voices Awards). TV series previewed include WeCrashed (Apple TV+), the third season of FX's Atlanta, Halo (Paramount+), and The Last Movie Stars (CNN+).

At the SXSW Gaming Awards (held March 12), the award for Game of the Year went to Final Fantasy XIV: Endwalker (Square Enix); it also took home awards for Excellence in Narrative and Excellence in Original Score. (2022 would be the final year to date for the SXSW Gaming Awards; the event would not be held in 2023.)

Major performers for SXSW Music included Ashanti, Dolly Parton (her first time at SXSW; the appearance was to promote Run, Rose, Run, her new album (and companion novel written in collaboration with James Patterson)), Shawn Mendes, Beck (who was also a keynote speaker) and Oleksandra "Sasha" Zaritska, the frontperson of Ukrainian band KAZKA, who planned to make their U.S. debut at SXSW, but the other two members were drafted into military service due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Zaritska performed as part of a special "Austin Stands With Ukraine" musical showcase.

Winners of the 2022 SXSW Pitch event, in which emerging startups pitch to potential investors, included Syrup Tech, Anthill, and Sonavi Labs. The "Best In Show" winner was Hilos, the "Best Bootstrap" award went to Kiro Action, and the "Best One-Minute Speed Pitch" went to Unpacking.

The Winner of the 2022 SXSW EDU Launch event, in which companies pitch to a panel of investors and education leaders, was OurWorlds, Inc., a Native American edtech company founded on the Pala Indian Reservation.

Major organizations and brands which exhibited at SXSW (many with standalone "brand activation" pavilions) included Porsche, the University of Arizona, Amazon Prime Video (including a promotion for Lizzo's reality competition series, Watch Out for the Big Grrrls), Peacock, Paramount+, and several galleries devoted to NFTs, including the Doodles project, co-created by artist Evan Keast.

Promoting its new Halo series (based on the video game franchise), Paramount+ deployed a swarm of 400 purple-lighted drones in the nighttime skies above Austin, spelling out a scannable QR code as well as "#HaloTheSeries Streams Mar 24" and the Paramount+ logo.

Keynote speakers included Grammy Award-winning artists Lizzo and Beck; author Neal Stephenson, and producer/director Celine Tricart.

2023

Main article: 2023 South by Southwest Film & TV Festival

SXSW 2023 occurred March 10–19 in Austin. The SXSW Conference & Festivals and SXSW EDU drew total participation totaling approximately 345,066.

Films that premiered at the festival included Angel Applicant (which won the Documentary Feature Competition), Bottoms, Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves, Evil Dead Rise, I Used To Be Funny, The Wrath of Becky, Late Night With the Devil, Problemista, Tetris, Talk to Me, Aberrance, Brooklyn 45, It Lives Inside, Monolith, Raging Grace (which won the Narrative Feature Competition), Deadland and Bloody Hell. TV series that premiered included Grown (which took the TV Pilot Competition award) and Mrs. Davis.

In what was reported as a "surprise" announcement, John Wick 4 made its US premiere at SXSW on March 13; star Keanu Reeves participated in a live Q&A session immediately after the screening. Hypnotic, an action thriller starring Ben Affleck and directed by Robert Rodriguez, was given a "work in progress" preview screening on March 12. In another surprise screening to close out the film portion of SXSW, Affleck premiered Air, the biographical drama he directed about the creation of the Nike Air Jordan shoes (starring himself, Viola Davis and Matt Damon), on March 18.

Winners of the 2023 SXSW Pitch event (held March 11–12 at the Hilton Austin Downtown), in which emerging startups pitch to potential investors, included Reality Defender, Reach Pathways and Urban Machine. The "Best in Show" winner was PentoPix, the "Best Bootstrap" award went to AMA — Environmental Agents and the "Best Speed Pitch" went to LeadrPro. 13 out of the 40 startups participating in SXSW Pitch were from outside the USA.

Veteran broadcast journalist Dan Rather was the tenth inductee into the SXSW Hall of Fame; he addressed the attendees at the induction event on March 13. Rather joined previous inductees including Kara Swisher, Baratunde Thurston and Jeffrey Zeldman.

Austin-based tech entrepreneur Whurley delivered a 45-minute presentation completely generated with the help of generative AI tools ChatGPT and Midjourney.

Major performers for SXSW Music included New Order (the members of whom also participated in a keynote on March 15), Jeff Tweedy (of Wilco), Austin-based band Porcelain, New York City-based rock/soul quintet SUSU, rap artist Armani White and Michigander.

The Union of Musicians and Allied Workers (UMAW) held a rally at the Austin Convention Center on March 16, demanding increased compensation for the majority of the over 1,400 musical acts (the majority of them independent and relatively unknown musicians and bands, as opposed to more famous/established artists) contracted to appear at SXSW. Artists and bands are generally expected to cover many of their own expenses (including travel to Austin) while performing at the festival; other music festivals around the country offer more generous compensation, including lodging assistance. UMAW's demands include raising compensation, waiving application fees; SXSW representatives said they would review the compensation guidelines/policies after the festival.

Keynote speakers included José Andrés, Priyanka Chopra Jonas, Tilda Swinton, RZA, and the members of the band New Order.

A new spinoff event, SXSW Sydney, was held for the first time from October 15 to 22, 2023 in Sydney, Australia.

2024

Main article: 2024 South by Southwest Film & TV Festival

SXSW 2024 took place from March 8–16. Films that premiered during the festival included the headlining Babes and The Fall Guy, Arcadian, Civil War, The Idea of You, Immaculate, Monkey Man*, Road House*, and Y2K. Post Malone, Jake Gyllenhaal, and Conor McGregor made appearances for the premiere of Road House. Featured television premieres included 3 Body Problem (Netflix), Black Twitter: A People's History (Hulu), Jerrod Carmichael Reality Show (HBO), and Ren Faire (HBO). XR Films that premiered at the XR Film Festival included Chief by Native American XR company OurWorlds which debuted on the Apple Vision Pro, the first time a film for the device appeared in competition.

Around 80 acts pulled out of the festival, including all ten Irish acts, citing the sponsorship of the event by the US Army and several military-industrial companies including RTX Corporation (formerly Raytheon), the world's largest producer of guided missiles. Some acts cited the US military's support for Israel in the Gaza war as part of their criticism of the sponsorship. One of the groups leading these protests—Austin for Palestine—was faced with trademark and copyright complaints from SXSW for using a parody of its logo (depicting blood-stained fighter jets flying off the arrow) in communications advocating against the festival. The Electronic Frontier Foundation filed a response on behalf of Austin for Palestine, arguing the image was clearly a parody allowable under United States trademark law, and doubting that a copyright claim could be made because the logo in question is too simplistic to be eligible for copyright.

2025

Main article: 2025 South by Southwest Film & TV Festival

Following the boycotts in the previous year, the festival terminated its contracts with the US Army and RTX Corporation. SXSW 2025 took place from March 7 to 15.

SXSW Film had several premieres, with juried awards announced on March 12. Notable award winners in the competitions included: Shuffle (Documentary Feature Grand Jury Prize), One Day This Kid (Narrative Feature Grand Jury Prize), Retirement Plan (Narrative Short Grand Jury Prize), Stomach Bug (Animated Short Grand Jury Prize), and Harvester (Midnight Shorts Grand Jury Prize and Texas Shorts Grand Jury Prize). The music video for Swedish singer-songwriter Sarah Klang's 'Other Girls' won the Music Video Competition, and Fckups Anonymous* won the TV Pilot Competition.

Major celebrities attended film premieres and featured sessions, including Ben Affleck (for The Accountant 2), Anna Kendrick (for Another Simple Favor), Jenna Ortega and Paul Rudd (for Death of a Unicorn), Robert Downey Jr. (featured session), Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey (featured session for The Last of Us), and Sadie Sink (for O'Dessa). In addition to Another Simple Favor, the opening night of the festival featured the premiere of the comedy series The Studio, starring Seth Rogen, Catherine O'Hara, and Kathryn Hahn, scheduled to premiere globally on Apple TV+ on March 26, 2025.

The SXSW Innovation Awards were held on March 10. Winners included Wandercraft's Self-Balancing Exoskeleton (Artificial Intelligence), "I SEE MUSIC!" by Synegram (Audio Experience) and Share@MealConnect (Community Empowerment). The People's Choice Award went to "Engineering the world's first Smart Lipstick" (a R&D project of Grupo Boticário and CESAR Innovation Hub of Brazil), and SolarSPELL won Best in Show.

Investor and entrepreneur Mark Cuban was inducted into the SXSW Hall of Fame on March 10 during the Innovation Awards Ceremony. In his speech, he was highly critical of US President Donald Trump and his special advisor, entrepreneur Elon Musk.

The 2025 SXSW Pitch event, presented by KPMG, saw nine category winners announced on March 9, with an official media event the next day at the JW Marriott in downtown Austin. This competition allows early-stage startups to present their businesses (across nine categories) to a panel of industry technology experts, media personnel, venture capitalists, and angel investors. Polygraf AI was named "Best in Show," while Azul Biotechnologies, Inc. won "Best Bootstrap Company," Tempest Droneworx received the "Best Speed Pitch" award, and Launch Ahead was recognized for "Best In Inclusivity."

Keynote speakers included John Fogerty, Jay Graber (CEO of Bluesky), Arvind Krishna (chairman and CEO of IBM), Bryan Johnson, Issa Rae, Meredith Whittaker (President of Signal), and Cristiano Amon (President and CEO of Qualcomm Incorporated). The crew of the upcoming Artemis II crewed lunar mission were also featured as speakers.

Major performers at the SXSW Music Festival included Benson Boone, Common, Koe Wetzel, Big Freedia, Megan Moroney, Immersion (Malka Spigel and Colin Newman), and French electronic music duo Kap Bambino. There were more international acts than ever before, with 35% of the music lineup coming from outside the United States. Participation in the music festival has reportedly been dropping since the 2010s, when the average band count peaked at around 2,000. This year's edition reportedly saw 1,012 bands showcasing. After the conclusion of SXSW 2025, organizers announced the 2026 edition of the music portion (the original component of SXSW in 1987) will be two days shorter in response to the decline.

Several major brands had a significant presence with activations, including Paramount+, Whataburger (Whataburger Museum of Art), Rivian (Rivian House and partnership with Ben & Jerry's), JBL (official audio partner with immersive experiences), Lululemon (Like New resale shop), Uber (driverless car service with Waymo), NASA (immersive space at the Central Public Library), and Adobe (discussions on AI and support for filmmakers).

SXSW 2025 highlighted a significant shift in the perception of AI, moving beyond hype towards practical applications across various industries, with brands actively exploring its budgetary value and integration into workflows. The uncertain future of TikTok, amidst potential sales or bans, sparked discussions about user-centric internet models and data practices. Streaming platforms maintained a strong presence with immersive activations (among them Prime Video and Paramount+), while emerging technologies like quantum computing were also spotlighted, suggesting a future where AI and quantum capabilities could converge to drive further innovation.

Economic impact

SXSW is the highest revenue-producing event outside of athletic and other events associated with The University of Texas at Austin for the Austin economy, with an estimated economic impact of $190.3 million in 2012 increasing to $218 million in 2013, $315 million in 2014, $317 million in 2015, and $325 million in 2016. In 2022, when SXSW resumed in-person events after the COVID-19 pandemic, the festival brought an estimated $280 million to the local economy, a 21% reduction from the 2019 economic impact of nearly $356 million (a record number). (In comparison, Super Bowl LI brought a $347 million economic impact to the Houston economy and the 2017 Final Four brought a $324 million economic impact to the economy of Phoenix, Arizona.)

Additionally, demand for hotel rooms in the Austin area continued to outstrip supply, pushing average nightly room rates up to an all-time high of $350 in 2016, a 60 percent increase over the average room rate seen during 2011's edition of SXSW. The average SXSW registrant also stayed in Austin longer in 2016, spending an average of 5.2 nights, up from 4.9 nights in 2015.

Criticism

The growth of the festival has brought concerns about violence, crowd control, and safety. In 2013, NPR writer Andrea Swensson wrote that she had decided to stop attending the festival, writing, "I can't help but feel that it has strayed far away from its original premise as a grassroots gathering place for new, undiscovered talent and increasingly feels like a big ol' Times Square billboard-sized commercial."

2014 fatalities

In 2014, an incident in which a drunk driver ploughed into a crowd of festival attendees, killing four, prompted discussion about whether the festival had grown too large and raucous.

The incident gave rise to multiple lawsuits against festival organizers, SXSW Holdings LLC and SXSW Holdings Inc., brought by those injured in the event and families of the deceased. Other defendants, including the City of Austin and a music venue, were later added to the suits. By late 2018, the bulk of the claims had been dismissed by both district and federal courts.

Partially motivated by the incident, Austin's Urban Transportation Commission announced in May 2014 it was seeking to enhance safety at the festival, with an initial focus on implementing transportation measures to resolve issues linked to the festival. The Austin Music Commission also met to discuss music venues and sound problems linked to the festival. The city voted to limit the number of special events that would be approved to 114, a 32 percent decrease from the number of approved events during the 2014 festival.

Response to GamerGate harassment

In October 2015, SXSW cancelled two video game panels ("#SavePoint: A Discussion on the Gaming Community" and "Level Up: Overcoming Harassment In Games") scheduled for the 2016 festival due to threats of violence made by GamerGaters. In response to the cancellations, BuzzFeed and Vox Media made statements saying they would pull out of the festival if the two panels weren't reinstated. Organizers apologized for the cancelations and replaced the panels with a daylong "online harassment summit" on March 12, 2016.

Boycott

Divisions of the United States Intelligence Community, including the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI), National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA), National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) and Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), have presented panels at the event and recruit talent. In 2023, plans for CIA panels were met with derision over the agency's association with Operation Condor.

In 2024, more than 80 musical acts canceled appearances at the festival in a boycott protesting the US Army's status as a "super sponsor" of the event, citing the Army's support of Israel's ongoing invasion of the Gaza Strip.

In February 2024, when the local advocacy group Austin for Palestine Coalition used a modified version of the SXSW logo in their anti-SXSW protests, SXSW sent them a cease-and-desist letter, accusing the group of trademark and copyright infringement. This SXSW claim was refuted by the Electronic Frontier Foundation on behalf of the Austin for Palestine Coalition.

In June 2024, SXSW stated that the US Army and companies engaging in weapons manufacturing would not be sponsors of the 2025 event.

In popular culture

• Comedian and actor Fred Armisen began his comic career with the short film Fred Armisen's Guide to Music and SXSW, released in 1998, in which he poses as various characters, asking silly questions of musicians and other attendees at that year's SXSW Music Conference.
• SXSW was featured during the 2005 season of MTV's The Real World. Cast members were tasked with shooting and editing their own documentary on the music festival.
• Comedy duo and band Flight of the Conchords performed at the 2006 SXSW Music Festival, during which time they also recorded a documentary titled Flight of the Conchords: A Texan Odyssey, which aired on New Zealand's TV3 in late 2006.
• The 2011 documentary Winning America is about a US tour of Canadian band Said the Whale that culminates in that year's SXSW Music Festival.
• SXSW was featured during the season 9 premiere of Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations. The episode aired in 2012.
• In the 2014 British - Irish film Frank, an experimental band (led by the title character) is booked to play a show at the SXSW Music Festival, but the gig leads to the band's breakup.
• In the 2019 anime Carole & Tuesday, the titular duo is booked to perform at the SXSW Music Festival on Mars.

Spinoff festivals

In addition to the three main South by Southwest festivals, the company runs other conferences: SXSW EDU, a conference on educational innovation, held in Austin. SXSW EDU evaluates proposals and panel opportunities through an advisory board composed of K-12 and postsecondary professionals, as well as leading experts in the workforce development industry.

The creators of South by Southwest co-created two similar festivals in 1995: North by Northwest (NXNW) in Portland, Oregon (co-founded by the Willamette Week), and North by Northeast (NXNE) in Toronto (co-founded by Now). North by Northwest ended in 2001, and was replaced by MusicfestNW (MFNW), an event run entirely by the Willamette Week.

From 2006 to 2010, organizers ran West by Southwest (WXSW) in Tucson, Arizona, a music festival which occurred directly before South by Southwest and mostly featured bands that were also booked for SXSW.

SXSW Sydney took place in Sydney, Australia, between 2023 and 2025. It did not return in 2026 having been deemed not economically viable after the New South Wales government cancelled its funding.

Other former conferences run by the SXSW organization include:

• SXSW Eco, a conference focusing on social and environmental issues through the lens of technology, creativity and design held in Austin from 2011 to 2016
• SXSW V2V, a conference focused on innovative startups, held in Las Vegas from 2013 to 2015
• The me Convention, held in Frankfurt, Germany and in Stockholm, Sweden, in collaboration with Mercedes-Benz, from 2017 to 2019

Similar festivals

Festivals inspired by SXSW include:

• Web Summit – Lisbon, Portugal
• Live at Heart – Örebro, Sweden
• So What?! Music Fest (originally "South by So What?!") – Dallas–Fort Worth Metroplex
• The Great Escape Festival – Brighton, England
• XOXO – Portland, Oregon
• North to Shore - New Jersey. Held in the three New Jersey cities of Asbury Park, Newark and Atlantic City.

Festivals inspired by SXSW that are defunct include:

• 35 Denton (originally "North by 35" or "NX35", then "35 Conferette") – Denton, Texas (2009–2016)
• C2SV (originally "SVSX") – San Jose, California (2012–2016)
• The Goa Project – Goa, India (2013–2018)
• Incubate (originally "ZXZW") – Tilburg, Netherlands (2005–2016)
• MidPoint Music Festival (MPMF) – Cincinnati, Ohio (2001–2017)
• MoSo – Saskatoon, Canada (2011–2016)
• MusicfestNW (MFNW) – Portland, Oregon (2001–2018)
• North by North Western (NXNW) – Wigan, England (2007–2009)
• Sounds by South Bend (originally "South by South Bend") – South Bend, Indiana (2013–2015)
• South by Due East – Houston, Texas (2003–2019)
• Tech Open Air (TOA) – Berlin (2012–2020)
• TechfestNW (TFNW), a sister conference to MusicFestNW – Portland, Oregon (2012–2021)
• Yes and Yes Yes (YXYY) (originally "Yes by Yes Yes") – Palm Springs, California (2013–2017)

Festivals inspired by South by Southwest have been collectively nicknamed "four-letter festivals". Metro Silicon Valley, which founded C2SV, wrote in 2013 that such festivals were important revenue sources for the alternative weekly newspapers that founded them.

On October 3, 2016, a one-day festival called "South by South Lawn" (SXSL) was held at the White House as a collaboration between SXSW, US President Barack Obama, and the American Film Institute.

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87. (March 27, 2014). "4th Person Dies After SXSW Car Crash". Huffington Post.
88. Philip Jankowski & Jazmine Ulloa, [http://www.statesman.com/news/news/crime-law/three-new-pieces-of-evidence-in-the-rashad-owens-c/npHXR/ Rashad Owens guilty of capital murder in deadly SXSW crash] {{Webarchive. link. (March 12, 2016 , ''Austin American-Statesman'' (November 6, 2016).)
89. Philip Jankowski & Jazmine Ulloa, [http://www.statesman.com/news/news/crime-law/follow-the-capital-murder-trial-of-sxsw-crash-susp/npDh4/ Sixteen people, most eyewitnesses, testify in Rashad Owens trial] {{Webarchive. link. (March 12, 2016 , ''Austin American-Statesman'' (November 2, 2016).)
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91. (March 16, 2014). "Rapper Tyler, The Creator arrested at South By Southwest".
92. Jazmine Ulloa, [http://www.mystatesman.com/news/news/crime-law/prosecutors-drop-riot-charge-against-rapper-tyler-/nqRYL/ As rapper's riot charge is dropped, legal experts question arrest] {{Webarchive. link. (March 12, 2016 , ''Austin American-Statesman'' (February 17, 2016).)
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94. Setoodeh, Ramin. (March 16, 2015). "'Furious 7' Premieres at SXSW to Cheers for Paul Walker".
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98. Murphy, Mekado. (March 19, 2015). "SXSW 2015: Films That Were the Talk of the Festival". The New York Times.
99. (March 13, 2015). "New Patent Office Director Sworn In by Commerce Secretary at SXSW". Streetwise Media.
100. Graham, Jefferson. (March 18, 2015). "Flying cars, tracking chips: The near future, from SXSW". USA Today.
101. Newcomb, Alyssa. (March 18, 2015). "SXSW 2015: 5 Standout Moments in Technology". ABC News.
102. "Schedule". SXSW.com.
103. Jervis, Rick. (March 11, 2016). "Obama calls on tech industry at SXSW to help solve nation's problems". USA Today.
104. (March 11, 2016). "The 16 Buzziest Movies at SXSW Film Festival".
105. Jankowski, Philip. (August 16, 2016). "Police seek witnesses, videos in Sixth Street shooting over SXSW weekend".
106. (2016-03-20). "Man arrested in SXSW shooting incident".
107. "Charging capital murder in the SXSW tragedy".
108. "South by South Lawn".
109. (2016-09-01). "Inspired by SXSW, Obama announces South by South Lawn Festival".
110. "Futurism".
111. (2016-09-30). "Celebrities, innovators head to D.C. for the first ever South by South Lawn".
112. Schneider, Marc. (2016-09-02). "White House Announces 'South By South Lawn,' SXSW-Inspired Micro Festival".
113. (March 14, 2017). "SXSW: Ryan Gosling, Charlize Theron Take Austin for 'Song to Song,' 'Atomic Blonde' Premieres".
114. McNary, Dave. (February 7, 2017). "James Franco's 'The Disaster Artist' to Premiere at SXSW".
115. "SXSW: Hulu Says It's Not Making a Political Statement With 'Handmaids Tale'".
116. Anderson, Will. (March 10, 2017). "SXSW Insider: Why the Los Pollos Hermanos pop-up came to Austin".
117. Maskeroni, Alfred. (March 10, 2017). "Have a Look Inside AMC's Perfect Replica of Breaking Bad's Los Pollos Hermanos at SXSW". Adweek.
118. O'Brien, Sara Ashley. (March 10, 2017). "Cory Booker: We need to love each other".
119. "SXSW Panel: ''The Messy Truth'' With Van Jones".
120. (March 12, 2017). "Joe Biden calls for SXSW tech innovators to join 'the only bipartisan thing left in America'". Los Angeles Times.
121. "Nile Rodgers Talks Making Hits & Not Being a Music Snob During SXSW Keynote Address".
122. Valentini, Valentina I.. (March 13, 2017). "SXSW: Gareth Edwards Explains How a Starbucks Cup Influenced 'Rogue One'". Variety.
123. "SXSW: Lee Daniels Explains Why Trump Will Be Good for Hollywood, Details Childhood in "the Ghetto"". The Hollywood Reporter.
124. (March 10, 2017). "Italian Band Soviet Soviet Denied Entry To The U.S., Jailed And Then Deported".
125. Kot, Greg. "SXSW: Artists representing Muslim-majority countries band together". chicagotribune.com.
126. (March 19, 2017). "FAARROW Joins SXSW Bands In Drawing Attention To Travel Ban".
127. Theis, Michael. (May 7, 2016). "Uber, Lyft defeated in Prop. 1 referendum". [[American City Business Journals]].
128. (May 26, 2017). "An inglorious return to Austin for Uber and Lyft". [[The Economist]].
129. (January 16, 2018). "SXSW 2018".
130. "Two Austin startups win big at SXSW Accelerator pitch event". 512 tech (Austin American-Statesman).
131. (October 11, 2017). "Announcing 200+ Showcasing Artists for the 2018 SXSW Music Festival".
132. (March 16, 2018). "Sonic Mania Plus Announced at SXSW with Physical Edition and New Characters". Bleeding Cool News And Rumors.
133. "'Legend of Zelda' and 'PUBG' top winners at SXSW Gaming Awards". 512tech (Austin American-Statesman).
134. Ramos, Dino-Ray. (January 31, 2018). "SXSW Unveils 2018 Festival Lineup, With John Krasinski's 'A Quiet Place' Opening-Night Film".
135. (March 11, 2018). "Marvel's 'Cloak & Dagger' holds watch party at SXSW". KVUE.
136. "Inside HBO and Giant Spoon's Massive Immersive Westworld Activation at SXSW".
137. (March 9, 2018). "'Westworld's gritty western fantasy comes to life at SXSW". CNET.
138. "THE SUSPECT: Family of Mark A. Conditt 'grieving' and 'in shock'". Austin American-Statesman.
139. (March 18, 2018). "The Roots' SXSW Concert Canceled Due to 'Security Concern'". Variety.
140. "Austin Police Warn People To Avoid Packages After 4th Explosion Injures 2". NPR.org.
141. (March 18, 2018). "Man arrested for bomb threat that shut down Roots concert at South by Southwest in Austin". CBS News.
142. Kreps, Daniel. (January 16, 2019). "'The Beach Bum,' 'Us,' Johnny Cash Doc Lead 2019 SXSW Film Festival".
143. Gonzales, Chloe. (March 17, 2019). "'God of War' takes top honor at SXSW Gaming Awards".
144. Graff, Gary. (March 14, 2019). "Edie Brickell & New Bohemians Play Tight, Career-Spanning Set at SXSW".
145. Harris, Richard. (November 15, 2018). "Startup Offers To Sequence Your Genome Free Of Charge, Then Let You Profit From It".
146. (March 11, 2019). "SXSW Announces 2019 Winners of 11th Annual Pitch Event".
147. Weber, Paul J.. (March 9, 2019). "2020 Democrats flock to trendy SXSW festival in Texas". AP News.
148. Shahani, Aarti. (March 11, 2019). "Democratic Candidates Target Tech Giants, Who Are Major Party Donors". NPR.
149. "The new Iowa? 2020 presidential candidates descend on Austin for SXSW conference".
150. Swant, Marty. (March 7, 2019). "Snap and HBO Use AR at Game of Thrones SXSW Experience". Adweek.
151. Solomon, Dan. (March 8, 2019). "At SXSW, HBO and Amazon Go Over-the-Top on "Immersive Experiences"".
152. Cross, Bettie. (March 9, 2019). "Amazon Prime brings a Garden of Earthly Delights to SXSW".
153. Ramos, Dino-Ray. (March 8, 2019). "'Good Omens' Celebrates End Of Times With Elixirs, Manicures And Puppies At SXSW".
154. (March 6, 2020). "SXSW 2020 Has Been Cancelled Following Coronavirus Fears".
155. (March 6, 2020). "City of Austin Cancels SXSW March Events". SXSW.
156. (March 6, 2020). "Austin Cancels SXSW in Light of COVID-19 Spread". NBC DFW.
157. (2020-02-28). "Here are all the major tech conferences canceled so far because of coronavirus".
158. (March 2, 2020). "Twitter CEO cancels SXSW appearance over coronavirus concerns".
159. (March 1, 2020). "Keeping our employees and partners safe during #coronavirus".
160. (March 2, 2020). "Facebook pulls out of the SXSW conference citing coronavirus concerns".
161. (March 2, 2020). "FACEBOOK AND VEVO CANCEL SXSW PLANS AMID CORONAVIRUS FEARS".
162. (March 3, 2020). "Facebook, Intel join Twitter in pulling out of SXSW over coronavirus fears".
163. (March 3, 2020). "We've decided to cancel the Mashable House and MashBash at SXSW".
164. (March 3, 2020). "Record Labels Restrict Travel Amid Escalating Coronavirus Threat".
165. (March 3, 2020). "Amazon Studios Pulls Out Of Fest Over Coronavirus Concerns".
166. (March 3, 2020). "TikTok Is Pulling Out of SXSW Amid the Coronavirus Scare".
167. (March 4, 2020). "We have made the decision to cancel all SAP in-person events for the month of March 2020".
168. Low, Elaine. (March 5, 2020). "Netflix Cancels SXSW 2020 Screenings, Panels Amid Coronavirus Fears (Exclusive)".
169. Spangler, Todd. (March 5, 2020). "Apple Pulls Out of SXSW 2020 Over Coronavirus Concerns".
170. (March 4, 2020). "Austin-based Indeed tells employees to work from home".
171. (March 5, 2020). "WarnerMedia joins list of companies pulling out of SXSW".
172. (March 4, 2020). "The Post has cancelled all non-essential business travel".
173. (March 4, 2020). "IBM to skip on SXSW after issuing travel restrictions due to coronavirus".
174. (March 3, 2020). "SXSW 2020 and coronavirus: Here's who's not coming".
175. Bloom, Madison. (March 6, 2020). "Beastie Boys, Ozzy Osbourne, Trent Reznor Pull Out of SXSW Due to Coronavirus".
176. (March 2, 2020). "Nearly 15,000 sign petition calling for SXSW to be canceled over mounting coronavirus worries".
177. (March 2, 2020). "Fears of coronavirus prompt online petition to cancel SXSW gathering in Austin".
178. Curtin, Kevin. (February 6, 2020). "SXSW Cancellation Not Covered by Insurance".
179. Goard, Alyssa. (March 9, 2020). "Despite SXSW cancellation, 'unofficial' and 'alternative' events look to gain momentum". KXAN.
180. "Stand With Austin Fund". Austin Community Foundation.
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182. (March 13, 2020). "SXSW Film Competition Going Digital in the Wake of Festival Cancellation".
183. (March 24, 2020). "Announcing the 2020 SXSW Gaming Awards Winners".
184. (April 2, 2020). "Amazon Teams With SXSW to Launch a Virtual Fest".
185. Roberts, Jordan. (May 18, 2020). "SXSW Sessions Online: A Weekly Virtual Event".
186. Akbar, Rachel. (November 9, 2021). "SXSW Video On Demand Case Study".
187. Lindahl, Chris. (January 14, 2021). "SXSW Sets Demi Lovato Doc as 2021 Opener, Plus New Joe Berlinger and Olivia Munn Projects". [[IndiWire]].
188. (2021-02-10). "SXSW 2021 Announces Full Feature Film Lineup, All Available for Online Viewing".
189. Roberts, Jordan. (January 13, 2021). "Willie Nelson, The Chainsmokers, Queen Latifah & More Join SXSW Online 2021". SXSW.
190. Alpert, Lukas I.. (2021-04-19). "South by Southwest Stake Is Sold to Owner of Rolling Stone in Effort to Keep Festival Alive". [[The Wall Street Journal]].
191. "SXSW 2022 Event Statistics".
192. "SXSW 2022 Covid-19 Guidelines".
193. Mekelburg, Peter Blackstock, Lori Hawkins, Shonda Novak and Madlin. "All Eyes on Texas: SXSW's starry in-person return makes news and money for Austin".
194. Solomon, Dan. (2022-03-22). "SXSW 2022 Felt Like SXSW, and That's Impressive".
195. Lattanzio, Ryan. (2022-03-16). "SXSW Unveils 2022 Award Winners for Feature Film, Shorts, Episodic, and More".
196. Rosario, Alexandra Del. (2022-03-13). "SXSW Gaming Awards Winners: 'Final Fantasy XIV: Endwalker' Scores Video Game Of The Year; 'Kena', 'It Takes Two' Among 2022 Honorees".
197. (March 16, 2022). "In SXSW Performance Ashanti Sang Hit After Hit and Talked "Real Life Shit"".
198. Webb, Eric. (Mar 19, 2022). "Dolly Parton came to SXSW, rhinestoned the blockchain and gave Austin an eternal memory".
199. (March 17, 2022). "Ukrainian Vocalist Whose Band Missed SXSW for Military Service Gets Assist From Austin's Music Community".
200. (March 13, 2022). "SXSW 2022 Announces Winners of 14th Annual Pitch Event".
201. "Porsche unveils creative highlights at South by Southwest®".
202. Aghadjanian, Nina. (2022-03-15). "Paramount+ Deploys 400 Drones At SXSW To Promote "Halo" Series".
203. (2022-02-15). "Lizzo, Beck, Neal Stephenson, Celine Tricart & More Announced".
204. (March 21, 2022). "See You Next Year: SXSW 2023 Dates Announced". SXSW.
205. "SXSW 2023 Event Statistics".
206. Tartaglione, Nancy. (2023-03-15). "SXSW: 'Raging Grace' Takes Top Honors In Narrative Feature Competition – Winners List".
207. (January 11, 2023). "SXSW – 'Evil Dead Rise', 'The Wrath of Becky', & 'Late Night With the Devil' to World Premiere! [Images]".
208. (2023-03-14). "'John Wick 4' Surprise Screening Reactions: "Greatest Action Sequences I've Ever Seen"".
209. Wiseman, Andreas. (2023-03-17). "Robert Rodriguez & Ben Affleck's 'Hypnotic' Gets May Release Date Following Surprise SXSW "Work In Progress" Screening".
210. Hibberd, James. (2023-03-19). "Ben Affleck Premieres 'Air' at SXSW: "Most Important Night of My Professional Life"".
211. (2023-03-12). "Announcing the Winners of 2023 SXSW Pitch Competition".
212. Yonick, Kim. (March 15, 2023). "'Keep dreaming' {{!}} Dan Rather inducted into SXSW Hall of Fame".
213. Korosec, Kirsten. (2023-03-17). "Strangeworks might be the first startup to rely on AI to create everything it brought to SXSW".
214. Campbell, Erica. (2023-03-15). "New Order talk their current tour during SXSW keynote: "It's like having a party and the drug is music"".
215. (Mar 14, 2023). "The Best Music We've Seen So Far at SXSW 2023".
216. (Mar 17, 2023). "Musicians Demand Fair Compensation from SXSW at Convention Center Rally".
217. [https://www.nme.com/news/music/sxsw-to-make-international-debut-in-sydney-in-october-2023-3259035 SXSW to make international debut in Sydney in October 2023] {{Webarchive. link. (June 30, 2022 ''[[NME]]'' June 30, 2022)
218. [https://web.archive.org/web/20231020110013/https://mumbrella.com.au/the-weekend-mumbo-sxsw-sydney-is-already-too-big-for-its-shell-803641 SXSW Sydney is already too big for its shell] ''[[Mumbrella]]'' October 20, 2023
219. (March 20, 2023). "See You Next Year: SXSW 2024 Dates Announced". SXSW.
220. Bergeson, Samantha. (2024-01-10). "SXSW 2024 Lineup: '3 Body Problem' Premiere to Open Fest, 'The Fall Guy' Set for Centerpiece Screening, and More".
221. D'Alessandro, Anthony. (2024-02-22). "A24's Alex Garland Movie 'Civil War' To Make World Premiere At SXSW".
222. Lang, Brent. (2024-01-30). "'The Idea of You' Starring Anne Hathaway and Nicholas Galitzine to Close SXSW 2024".
223. Cruz, Olivia. (2024-01-30). "2024 SXSW Film & TV Festival Unveils Opening and Closing Night Premieres".
224. (March 9, 2024). "Post Malone, Jake Gyllenhaal, Conor McGregor arrive at SXSW Road House premiere".
225. White, Abbey. (2024-03-08). "How a New Hulu Doc Chronicles the Birth, Rise and Backlash of Black Twitter".
226. Complex, Valerie. (January 10, 2024). "SXSW Lineup Sets 'The Fall Guy', '3 Body Problem' Among Fest's 2024 World Premieres As First Titles Revealed".
227. Bye, Kent. (2024-04-04). "#1374: Telling Stories of Indigenous Leaders with OurWorlds.io's "Chief" on Apple Vision Pro".
228. Byrne, Niall. (March 12, 2024). "All Irish bands have now cancelled their official SXSW performances".
229. (March 11, 2024). "SXSW: Bands pull out of festival over Israel-Gaza conflict".
230. Fisher, Lina. (March 11, 2024). "SXSW Sent Cease-and-Desist Letter to Organization Leading Army Sponsorship Protest".
231. Gagliano, Cara. (2024-03-13). "SXSW Tried to Silence Critics with Bogus Trademark and Copyright Claims. EFF Fought Back.".
232. Horton, Adrian. (2024-06-26). "SXSW ends US Army partnership after backlash from artists over Palestine". [[The Guardian]].
233. Smith, Kate. (2025-03-12). "2025 SXSW Film & TV Festival Awards Winners".
234. Hailu, Selome. (2025-03-09). "Ben Affleck Says Line Dancing in 'The Accountant 2' Was Like Doing Stunt Work During SXSW Premiere: 'Tom Cruise Has Nothing on Me'".
235. Gleiberman, Owen. (2025-03-08). "'Another Simple Favor' Review: At SXSW, Anna Kendrick and Blake Lively Return for a Sequel That Has More Twists and Less Fun".
236. Vary, Adam B.. (2025-03-09). "A Terrified Jenna Ortega and Psycho Killer Unicorns Make SXSW Scream With the Gory 'Death of a Unicorn'".
237. Chuba, Kirsten. (2025-03-09). "Sadie Sink "Cried So Much" on Last Day of 'Stranger Things': "There Are Some Pretty Embarrassing Photos"".
238. Chuba, Kirsten. (2025-03-08). "Seth Rogen Met With Every Hollywood Studio Head as Research for 'The Studio': "They Seem to Like It"".
239. (Mar 12, 2025). "The World's First Smart Lipstick® Wins "The Oscars" of Innovation Award at SXSW 2025".
240. Seijo, Luis. (2025-03-11). "2025 SXSW Innovation Award Winners Announced".
241. Jones, Cristela. (March 11, 2025). "Mark Cuban calls out President Trump, Elon Musk in SXSW Hall of Fame speech".
242. Southwest, South by. "SXSW Announces Winners of 2025 Pitch Competition".
243. Thomas Erlewine, Stephen. (2025-03-12). "The Best of SXSW Day One: John Fogerty, Case Oats, Gloin, and More".
244. "NASA's Artemis II Crew Speaks at SXSW - NASA".
245. (2025-03-12). "Benson Boone Kicks Off Rolling Stone's Future of Music Showcase With Charisma, Huge Vocals, and Plenty of Flips".
246. "Inside Common's SXSW party with Porsche and The FADER".
247. Hudak, Joseph. (2025-03-13). "Megan Moroney Reminds SXSW Fans That They're All Okay at Future of Music Showcase Night Two".
248. Drew, Caroline. (March 14, 2025). "Adapting "Weirdness" at SXSW 2025".
249. Nordyke, Kimberly. (2025-03-17). "SXSW Music Is No More (Report)".
250. "Inside Paramount+'s SXSW strategy: can an installation help win the streaming wars?".
251. "Whataburger creates museum of art with SXSW pop-up gallery".
252. Dilworth, Dianna. (2025-03-05). "How brands are showing up at SXSW 2025".
253. "SXSW 2025: AI in the real world, TikTok in limbo and streaming platforms everywhere".
254. Longeretta, Emily. (2025-02-26). "Prime Video Celebrates Women-Led Projects 'Another Simple Favor,' 'Summer I Turned Pretty' and More With Immersive SXSW Activation (EXCLUSIVE)".
255. (2025-03-13). "SXSW 2025 live coverage: The potential of quantum computing, Ireland's prime minister makes a splash, and a Metallica concert in Apple Vision Pro".
256. "Report: SXSW's 2012 economic impact was $190 million". Austin American Statesman.
257. (September 18, 2013). "SXSW Announces 2013 Impact on the Austin Economy | Austin Chamber Divisional Blogs". Austinchamber.com.
258. (September 12, 2014). "SXSW's Economic Impact On Austin In 2014 Was Worth $315 Million". Texas Monthly.
259. Swiatecki, Chad. (September 15, 2015). "SXSW economic impact grows slightly from 2014".
260. Theis, Michael. (September 7, 2016). "SXSW economic impact up slightly in 2016; hotel rates hit new high".
261. (September 21, 2022). "SXSW had $280 million economic impact on Austin in 2022, study finds".
262. Martin, Joe. (May 25, 2017). "Results are in: How much the 2017 Super Bowl brought to Houston".
263. Wiles, Russ. (August 11, 2017). "Final Four gave Phoenix area a $325 million economic slam dunk, ASU study says". azcentral.
264. Theis, Michael. (September 7, 2016). "SXSW economic impact up slightly in 2016; hotel rates hit new high".
265. Conner, Thomas. (March 21, 2011). "Violence and crowd control problems cause SXSW to consider limiting events". [[Chicago Sun-Times]].
266. Owens, Marjorie. (March 27, 2014). "SXSW accident claims fourth life". USA Today.
267. Swensson, Andrea. (March 5, 2013). "Why I'm Not Going To SXSW This Year". NPR.
268. (March 13, 2014). "A tragic wake-up call for SXSW?". Los Angeles Times.
269. "Lawsuits: Deadly SXSW crash could have been prevented". KXAN.
270. Plohetski, Tony. (January 13, 2017). "Judge dismisses largest case in 2014 SXSW crash". Austin American Statesman.
271. Lindell, Chuck. (September 13, 2017). "Court dismisses wrongful-death lawsuit from 2014 SXSW tragedy". Austin American Statesman.
272. "City holds final SXSW public input meeting".
273. (February 11, 2015). "A smaller SXSW? Austin halts applications for special events". Austin Business Journal.
274. Dewey, Caitlin. (October 27, 2015). "SXSW canceled two panels after threats – but did nothing when female panelists asked about harassment". [[The Washington Post]].
275. Gallaga, Omar L.. (October 27, 2015). "SXSW Interactive cancels two 2016 panels due to threats". [[Austin 360]].
276. Kulwin, Noah. (October 27, 2015). "BuzzFeed and Vox Media Threaten to Bail on SXSW Unless Canceled Panels Are Reinstated". Re/code.
277. (October 30, 2015). "'We Made a Mistake': SXSW to Host Online Harassment Summit". NBC News.
278. (2022-03-18). "Federal agencies use SXSW as fertile recruiting territory".
279. "PDDNI Connects with New Audiences at SXSW".
280. "America's LGBT Spies: Secret Agents (of Change) {{!}} SXSW 2016 Event Schedule".
281. "National Reconnaissance Office".
282. (2023-02-23). "Why Is the CIA at SXSW?".
283. (2024-03-11). "SXSW: Bands pull out of festival over Israel-Gaza conflict".
284. Ortega, Hannah. (March 14, 2024). "80+ bands pull out of SXSW in protest of US military amid Israel-Hamas war. Here's a list".
285. Shah, Simmone. (March 13, 2024). "Everyone Who Has Pulled Out of SXSW in Opposition to the U.S. Army Being a Sponsor".
286. Gagliano, Cara. (2024-03-13). "SXSW Tried to Silence Critics with Bogus Trademark and Copyright Claims. EFF Fought Back.".
287. Salgado, Beck Andrew. (June 27, 2024). "SXSW to cut sponsorship ties with weapons manufacturers and US Army in 2025". Austin American Statesman.
288. (February 23, 2011). "Portlandia – Fred Armisen – co-creator, co-writer, co-star – IFC". Ifc.com.
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293. "About SXSW EDU". Sxswedu.com.
294. (September 20, 2013). "Alt-Weeklies' Four-Letter Festivals: Movement Grows as Silicon Valley Launches C2SV". AAN News.
295. [http://tech.fortune.cnn.com/2012/08/28/tech-may-have-found-its-next-sxsw/ Tech may have found its next SXSW] {{Webarchive. link. (February 3, 2017 , John Patrick Pullen, ''CNNMoney'', August 28, 2012)
296. [http://tucsoncitizen.com/morgue2/2006/03/09/115421-go-west-by-southwest-young-band/ Go West (by Southwest), young band] {{Webarchive. link. (March 3, 2016 , Polly Higgins, ''[[Tucson Citizen]]'', March 9, 2006)
297. [https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/business/business-news/sxsw-sydney-canceled-government-pulls-funding-1236473358/ SXSW Sydney Canceled After Regional Government Pulls Funding] ''[[The Hollywood Reporter]]'' January 14, 2026
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299. Gallaga, Omar L.. (October 23, 2012). "SXSW Interactive expanding next year with Las Vegas startup conference". Austin American-Statesman.
300. Schultz, Ina. (March 11, 2017). "South by Southwest (SXSW) to collaborate with Mercedes-Benz at IAA International Motor Show in Frankfurt: Premiere at IAA: International me Convention".
301. Roberts, Jordan. (June 14, 2017). "SXSW and Mercedes-Benz Announce Initial Programming for Collaborative Future-Focused Event in Europe". SXSW.
302. Wortham, Jenna. (May 25, 2012). "XOXO Aims to Be an Alternative to South by Southwest". The New York Times Bits blog.
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